Mikhail Tal

"The Magician from Riga", Mikhail Tal (Михаил Нехемьевич Тал) was a Latvian chess Grandmaster and the eighth World Chess Champion. He was widely regarded for his attacking style of play, creating highly complicated positions that would often overwhelm his opponents. He is considered the father of the "Latvian School of Chess", where many other Latvian-born Grandmasters including Alexei Shirov and Alexander Shabalov would emulate his aggressive style of play.

From a young age, Mikhail Tal was blessed with incredible talent but was cursed with ill health. He learned how to read at the age of three, and started at university at the age of fifteen. He learned how to play chess at the age of eight by watching his father play. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Riga Palace of Young Pioneers chess club. While Mikhail Tal was not a chess prodigy, he had an incredible work ethic and would spend countless hours studying chess. In 1949, the legendary Russian chess trainer Alexander Koblents started to tutor Mikhail Tal and the improvement was immediate. In less than two years, Mikhail Tal qualified for the 1951 Latvian Championship at the remarkable age of just twelve years old. At the 1952 Latvian Championship, Tal had a successful tournament and finished ahead of his trainer.

The following year, Mikhail had won the 1953 Latvian Championship at the age of fourteen and he received the title of Candidate Master. Tal's meteoric rise continued in 1954, when he was awarded the title of Soviet master and scored his first grandmaster scalp when he defeated legendary author Yuri Averbakh. Mikhail Tal first qualified for the U.S.S.R. Chess Championship in 1956, where he finished joint fifth. The following year, he became the youngest player to win the U.S.S.R. Chess Championships at the age of only twenty years old. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, recognized Tal's incredible accomplishment by waiving the international tournament requirement for the Grandmaster title and awarded him the title. In 1958, Mikhail Tal competed in his first World Chess Championship and won the interzonal tournament at Portoroz.

1959 was the breakout year for Mikhail Tal. He started by winning the Zurich 1959 chess tournament, defeating such up-and-coming players as Bobby Fischer, Paul Keres and Bent Larsen. Mikhail success continued at the Yugoslavia 1959 Candidates' Tournament, where he scored an impressive 20/28 points, ahead of three future World Champions : Tigran Petrosian, Vasily Smyslov and Bobby Fischer. By winning the Candidates' Tournament, Mikhail Tal won the right to challenge the reigning World Chess Champion Mikhail Botvinnik for the title.

In 1960, Mikhail Tal and his hyper-aggressive, tactical style of play went up against the strategic style of Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship in Moscow. The match was the first time that Tal and Botvinnik faced each other across the chess board, and Botvinnik was ill-prepared for the unrelenting attacking style of Mikhail Tal. The matched ended 12.5-8.5 in favor of Mikhail Tal, who at the age of twenty two had become the youngest World Chess Champion ever. The following year, a rematch between these two champions was held, but it ended with a completely different outcome. Mikhail Tal's health was failing him and his doctors recommended that he postpone the match to address his kidney failure. Tal refused to postpone the match and was soundly defeated by Mikhail Botvinnik 13-8. It was later revealed that Botvinnik had spent the time between the World Chess Championship matches thoroughly analyzing Tal's games, discovering ways to neutralize his attacking style and turn the games into slow, methodical battles that would favor Botvinnik. Although Mikhail Tal played in six additional Candidates' Tournaments, he never earned the right to play for the World Championship title again.

In addition to winning the World Chess Championship in 1960, Mikhail Tal has an impressive list of chess accomplishments. He holds the record for the two longest unbeaten streaks in modern chess, including an incredible streak of 95 consecutive games (46 wins and 49 draws) between October 23, 1973 and October 16, 1974.

Sally Landau, born in 1938, Vitebsk, Soviet Union, was Mikhail Tal’s first wife, a highly talented actress and singer. Sally and Misha were married from 1959 to 1970 in a period that encompassed Tal’s two world championship matches with Botvinnik as well as many of his greatest tournament performances.

Mikhail Tal is one of the most celebrated chess players of all time. The eighth World Champion not only won the title at a record young age, but did so using a ferocious, high-risk attacking style. Tal's spectacular games, along with his charming personality and witty sense of humour, endeared him to the chess public like no other player.

In this, the second of three volumes, award-winning author Tibor Károlyi continues his groundbreaking exploration of Tal's sparkling career. Mikhail Tal is oneof the most celebrated chess players of all time, and in 1960 he demolished Botvinnik to become the youngest ever World Champion at the time, at the age of twenty-three.

Mikhail Tal is a true legend of chess. He was the World Champion and also holds the world record for the longest unbeaten run in competitive chess. Tal is widely regarded to be the greatest attacking player of all time. Nicknamed ‘the magician from Riga’, Tal was a creative genius who made it look as though absolutely anything was possible over the chessboard. In this book, former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala selects and examines his favourite Tal games, from the beginning to the end of his exceptional career. Lakdawala shows how we can all improve our chess by learning from Tal’s masterpieces.

The Big Book of World Chess Championships 46 Title Fights - From Steinitz to Carlsen

Catalog Code: B0169NIC

German chess journalist Andre Schulz tells the stories and the history of the World Chess Championship fights in fascinating detail: the historical and social backgrounds, the prize money and the rules, the seconds and other helpers, and the psychological wars on and off the board.

This book covers the final two decades of Tal's life and games, from 1972 until his death in 1992. Despite being more than a decade removed from his world title reign, the early 1970s saw Tal rewrite chess history with two record-breaking unbeaten streaks. Other highlights include victory in the Montreal 1979 Tournament of Champions, and winning the World Blitz Championship in 1988.

No World Champion has enchanted the chess world as much as Mihail Tal did. His reign as World Champion was short but in his time Tal’s star burned with unknown intensity. With his combinations and his intuitive sacrifices the young Tal ran over his opponents, and thrilled the chess world with his risky uncompromising attacking play, which inspired many players to emulate him.

Three brilliant books from Everyman Chess brought together in one volume - The Masters: Alexander Alekhine, Master of Attack, The Masters: Boris Spassky, Master of Initiative
and The Masters: Mikhail Tal, Tactical Genius By Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik

The 1966 World Championship Match was one of the hardest fought and most exciting matches of this series. It was played under the traditional rules of a 24 game match, time limit was 40 moves in 21/2 hours, and if a 12-12 tie the champion would retain his title.

First published in Russian in 2016 and written by Valentin Kirillov – Mikhail Tal’s close friend, sparring partner, team member and second – this book of memoirs describes key events from Tal’s life, portrays his mentors and opponents, and reveals previously unknown facts and funny stories about the Magician of Riga.

No World Champion has enchanted the chess world as much as Mihail Tal did. His reign as World Champion was short but in his time Tal’s star burned with unknown intensity. With his combinations and his intuitive sacrifices the young Tal ran over his opponents, and thrilled the chess world with his risky uncompromising attacking play, which inspired many players to emulate him.

GM Jesse Kraai currently resides in Berkeley, California. His most notable chess achievements are winning the Denker Tournament of High School Champions in 1989 and 1990, and competing in the U.S. Championship from 2002-2006.

Did you ever notice how some famous GM games are more interesting to play through than others? For instance, tell me you have a Tartakower or Nimzowitsch game and I'm sorry, but I just can't get that excited. But tell me you have a Fischer, Alekhine, or Tal game you want to show me and woo-hoo!, break out the milk and cookies because I know I'm in for a real treat! And Mikhail Tal: Tactical Genius by Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik is loaded with enough tasty treats to satisfy the most demanding of palates.

This book contains 60 games in Descriptive Notation annotated by Liepnieks and other Latvian masters including Edmars Mednis, Paul Tautvaisas and John Tums based on the notes by Tal. It also includes Tal's Chess Quiz based on 10 of Tal's games. (WARNING: This quiz is too difficult. You will not be able to solve the problems.)

The Fire Attack'' by Mikhail Tal and Iakov Damsky, brings out all the brightest and most beautiful of the great victories of the Soviet Grandmaster of Chess and World champion Mikhail Tal Nehemevicha. His aggressive, unpredictable, graceful, and in some cases even warlike games are always admired and will always be admired by millions of players around the world. He was a true master of the attack on the king. Tal showed that the need for a good attack, unexpected solutions, endless sacrifices, even if not always correct in terms of computer analysis.

The 1958 Interzonal Chess Tournament in Portoroz was one of the most important and strongest tournaments in chess history, and is still regularly discussed in chess circles today. This is the tournament where the 15-year-old Bobby Fischer earned the grandmaster title and first became a contender for the World Chess Championship. It is also the tournament where Mikhail Tal finally got his first chance to compete in a grandmaster tournament outside of the Soviet Union, and started one of the longest non-losing streaks in chess history on his march to the World Chess Championship.

Arguably one of the worlds most exciting chess players of all time, Grandmaster Mikhail Tal will always be remembered as an attacking genius. The former World Champion, who was nicknamed The Magician from Riga for his tactical prowess, has insprired many a chess player with his daring and electrifying style of play. With this in mind, Ginger GM in association with Dark Phoenix Media Ltd. has created its first interactive DVD based on this chess legend.

Mikhail Tal, the ''Magician from Riga'', was the greatest attacking World Champion of them all, and this enchanting autobiography chronicles his extraordinary career with charm and humor. Dazzling games are interspersed throughout with anecdotes and witty self-interviews, and in typically objective fashion he relates both the ups and downs of his encounters.

The legendary Mikhail Tal was the finest ever exponent of attacking chess. His all-out sacrificial style took him all the way to the World Championship title. Dogged by ill-health, Tal's reign was a short one, and he was never able to regain his crown, but Tal remained an outstanding player right up to his death in 1992. His departure has taken away one of the chess world's most charismatic figures; a player who excited chess passions wherever he went.

One of the greatest books ever written about a world championship match. Take a trip with the Magician from Riga as he invites you to share his thoughts and feelings as he does battle for the world title.